Cigar City José Martí American Porter Review

Name: Cigar City José Martí American Porter
Style: Porter
ABV: 8%

Continuing on with some beer I got in the mail for an exchange, I'm now going to look at a beer from Cigar City Brewing based out of Tampa, Florida. Believe it or not, I've actually gotten some Cigar City in a beer trade about 3 years ago when I was still in college and found them to be quite good.

For this review, it's something which I've never had before and it's their José Martí American Porter. José Martí was a Cuban poet & political activist back when Cuba was fighting for independence from Spain in the late 1800's. Through his writings and activism for democracy, he became a national symbol for an independent Cuba after he was killed in battle in 1895. He is still, to this day, considered a national hero in Cuba. It's an interesting inspiration for a beer name, but it makes sense when you consider that Tampa, FL and Florida in general has a very high Cuban-American population.

Jose Marti pours a pitch black color with a very brown-khaki colored head. It's also worth pointing out the lacing is quite abundant and very sticky.

The nose is very hop forward and I mean very. Even by Porter standards, I am taken aback by how aggressively hoppy this smells; After all, the label does say "robustly hopped" on it. Once you get passed that, there's a very nice roasted barley bill and hints of chocolate malts, caoco and coffee.

The flavor is also extremely hoppy upfront but the strong roasted barley and chocolate maltiness help balance out the flavor from being too hop-centric The aftertaste is mainly roasted barley and coffee beans. One thing I notice about the flavor is that it's quite smooth and every part of the flavor seems to go together seamlessly. Speaking of smooth....

The body itself is quite heavy with some mild-to-moderate thickness. The carbonation is also very mild and the overall texture is very smooth.

I know this may be a bit of a stretch to say, but this is, without a doubt, one of the best porters I have ever had. The flavor is very robust yet well-balanced and on top of that, the palate and texture as a whole as so incredibly smooth. If you happen to come across this beer, you absolutely need to check this out.

Cigar City José Martí American Porter - 9.5/10

Ale Asylum Contorter Porter Review

Name: Ale Asylum Contorter Porter
Style: Porter
ABV: 4.8%

It's been about a year since I've looked at anything from Ale Asylum, so on my recent trip down to the Twin Cities, I picked up a couple of their offerings from Hudson, WI during my visit last month. The first Ale Asylum beer that I picked up from Hudson which I will be reviewing is their Contorter Porter, which has a lower-than-usual ABV of 4.8%. The label also invokes a Motörhead-esque sort of feeling but that could just be my imagination working overtime

Contorter Porter pours a pitch black color with a rather thin khaki colored head. The lacing left behind is somewhat sparse and the visible carbonation is seemingly mild.

The aroma has a fairly strong roasted barley scent upfront with notes of dark chocolate malts, cocoa and coffee grounds. It seemingly teeters between roasty and sweet almost.

Flavor-wise, it's definitely more sweeter than roasty. Starting out are some strong chocolate malts which transition into some roasted barley, coffee and some mild but noticeable hoppiness on the very back end of the palate. With that said, the aftertaste is quite roasty with no signs of maltiness

The palate as a whole is quite light in the body with some moderate carbonation. There is however a distinct creamy texture which makes this rather easy to drink.

At the end of the day, Contorter Porter is tasty and quite easy to drink. It's not too often you see "session" porters but this one ends up being quite flavorful. If you're ever in Wisconsin, I'd definitely recommend checking this out.

Ale Asylum Contorter Porter - 8.5/10

Deschutes Black Butte XXV Review

Name: Deschutes Black Butte XXV
Style: Imperial Porter
ABV: 11.3%

Since 2008, Deschutes Brewing has released a stronger version of year-round Black Butte Porter, starting with Black Butte XX to signify their 20th year in business and so forth. This year it's their 25th anniversary in business so therefore it's the roman numeral for 25 (XXV). I should've probably reviewed the original Black Butte first before having this.....Oh well!!

This will also be the second Imperial Porter that I've had, the first being The Dark Knight Returns from Barley John's Brewpub based out of New Brighton, MN.

Black Butte XXV pours a pitch black color with a Khaki colored brown head. The lacing retention is also pretty good and there's only a couple bubbles along the sides of the glass.

The aroma starts off with a chocolate-raspberry sweetness with some vanilla, coffee, plums and roasted barley. For a Porter, this smells rather fruity.

Chocolate & roasted barley make up the the front of the flavor along with raspberries/plums, burnt malts, vanilla and coffee. The aftertaste is a bit of an oddball here because unlike most Porters that I'm used to, which have a roasty-toasty finish, Black Butte XXV finishes with a tart chocolate & raspberry flavor.

The beer extremely hefty in weight and thick but paired with the light carbonation, it makes for a very smooth and creamy body. It definitely helps you enjoy every bit of the flavor that's in here.

Black Butte XXV is a very well put together & robust beer that offers slightly different take on the porter style particularly with the raspberry/plum notes so check it out if you get the chance! I will for sure be getting this again next year!

Deschutes Black Butte XXV - 9/10

Boulevard Bully! Porter Review

The fourth beer in the Boulevard Brewing Sampler Pack is their Bully! Porter, which has an ABV of 6.0%. I also think the Bulldog wearing the monocle and tuxedo on the label also looks quite classy.

Bully! Porter pours a black color with a brown tinge when held up to the light. The brown colored head is surprisingly foamy and high in volume with some good retention. The lacing it leaves behind is also very good as well.

The nose consists of milk chocolate, roasted barley & malts and cocoa. The flavor is pretty much the same as the aroma, except a little richer in flavor and it has a slight hop taste to it.

Body is pretty heavy in weight but the carbonation is mild. It's not what I would call smooth but this one goes down pretty easy nonetheless.

It's got a solid flavor and it's pretty easy to drink. It is definitely worth checking out and so far, it's my favorite beer that I've had from the sampler pack.

Boulevard Bully! Porter - 8.5/10

Sam Adams Maple Pecan Porter

Name: Sam Adams Maple Pecan Porter
Style: Porter
ABV: 5.6%

This is the last beer in the Sam Adams Spring Sampler Pack. It's been a long time coming really and I know I have been neglecting to review this beer for quite a while. Since this is technically my "weekend" thanks to my new job, I figured I would finally get around to reviewing this. I want to point out before this review that I have never had Pecan before in my life, I'm not a fan of nuts of any kind except for Cashews which I have no problem with.

To start, it pours a fairly dark brown color with a brown head. Its fairly clear appearance allows for a reddish tinge on the bottom half of the glass.

The nose has an aroma of maple syrup, nuts (which I would assume are Pecan), roasted malts and a bit of chocolate. Very nutty smell, I would say this smells more like a Brown Ale than a Porter.

The flavor has a strong sweet maple syrup and roasted malt taste upfront which is supplemented by chocolate and nutty notes. Definitely tastes more like a Porter but more like a fairly light one.

The body feels light but it also has a dimension of thickness to it and the carbonation is very mild, probably thanks in part to the maple syrup.

It may be a little too rich for some but I enjoyed it! I would've liked to have seen actual maple syrup used instead of artificial syrup to make the flavor more subtle but for what it is, but it's worth checking out either way.

Sam Adams Maple Pecan Porter - 8.5/10